Stopping an old MMORPG and replacing it with a new version is an interesting approach not many companies have dared. Aventurine is replacing the old Darkfall with a new Darkfall: Unholy Wars. And the new Darkfall will have some significant differences to the old Darkfall: It will have safe zones. Not the pseudo-safe zones of EVE's empire space in which you can still be suicide ganked, but "All the racial capitals and satellite faction cities as well as surrounding areas where players will make their initial steps have all PvP actions disabled." safe.

I think that is a very good idea. I just don't think the hardcore griefers playing Darkfall will like it.

No game can be 100% wolves. Wolves need sheep to prey upon. As long as their is an reason for the sheep to occationally leave their safe zones, then this will add a few more juice targets for the otherwise starved wolves.

Of course, this is mmo-world so the wolves will complain and hate the sheep for ruining their game when in actual gameplay is improved for all factions.

I think it is a great idea. New people are able to develop teeth, group with other people and hopefully after a while jump into the fray.

The only thing I am concerned about is the fact that the pks are able to enter the save zones too. The surrounding of the save zones is probably going to become a pvp hotspot. Let's hope these pks get their share of grief too.

Speaking as a MMO sheep I have to agree....there's still no reason for me to play this game. Just like when I played EVE and realized I simply didn't care to play a game that was filled with rampant pvp (I'm far too much into FPS pvp where skill matters to care about the laughable nonsense MMOs call pvp)...so yeah, I doubt this will do much more than allow some people to conduct trade and commerce in-game without being ganked.

I'll do hardcore open world pvp in a game with permadeath (Dayz)...at least then revenge will be sweet.

Gawd. You know what I’d really, really like? This new Star Citizen game that’s coming out is apparently going to be pretty sandboxy. And I hear rumblings of open-world PVP.

What I would love, really LOVE, is for piracy to be hard. To be really, really hard. Socially, financially, and skill-challengingly difficult. And not at all comparable in reward to legal enterprises. I would love for the law to actually be a real threat, for legal retribution to be more meaningful than pirates having a friend collect their bounty and split it, for them to be unable to make use of any of the benefits that come from standardized trade practices and currency. For lawful bounty hunters to be incredibly well-rewarded, for pirates to find it incredibly difficult to regain their legitimate status, thus giving their douchebaggery some real consequence. Play nice or re-roll.

I think the griefers will bitch and moan, but I think it will be a success, and that they will still play it and still be pirates.

You know why? Because there will ALWAYS be assholes. In EVE, you are encouraged to be an asshole because that’s where the money is. But if you were to make it so that only the truly dedicated griefers get to do it, and have the odds stacked against them at every turn? They’d still exist, but the game wouldn’t be wholly and solely ABOUT the assholes, like EVE is. People who play EVE claim there are no assholes, but that’s because… well. In a society where everyone is evil, isn’t evil really just the new ‘normal’? You need the Good to contrast with, and that doesn’t live long in EVE. Anyone who crows about it requiring more skill is misleading – no fights in EVE are about matches of equal combat skill. The skill they are referring to is their ability to trap someone into an uneven fight.

Make a game where they are TRULY the outcasts? I think many will still do it. Someone always wants to be the bad guy. It just want to see it made cripplingly difficult, unrewarding and lonely.

…Just like real life. How many of us have to worry about daily muggings, murder and theft? Not many. Because the law in real life is startlingly effective. It is pursued vigorously with substantial resources thrown at it. It is not an even fight at all. Real criminals have to hide their activity. Let’s mimic that in a ‘real world’ game.